masi61

I have two NOS Dura Ace 7400 7-speed freewheel bodies that I got at a good price. I only have the cogs to complete one freewheel though. I keep hearing about 3D printing obsolete parts. My magic wish is that someone will start 3D printing some Uniglide cogs in all of the sizes to make a nice 12-26 or 12-28 Dura Ace freewheel.

beicster 

Will that cause spacing problems on 120 OLD hubs?

ThermionicScott 

I'm curious about that, too. You can see how there is some freewheel body "left over" on the 5-speed units:



I guess as long as that doesn't stick out past the DS locknut and interfere with the dropout, one should be good.

Narhay

I've had this issue with new 5 speed freewheels that use a lockring on the outer threaded portion of the hub body like sunrace. Essentially wider than their contemporary counterparts.

Slightspeed

i can't see my beard while I'm riding either. 😃

SurferRosa

Not for me. I "had" two bikes with 120mm spacing, and both used IRD freewheels. I gave one bike to my nephew. The IRD freewheel on the other, my grocery getter, started to skip on the second smallest cog. So I replaced it with a 5-speed Shimano one ... without any writing on it. Didn't need to make any hub spacing changes upon replacement.

I was a proponent of IRD, but I won't be buying any more of them after two failures. The other was a busted pawl that was far more concerning than a skipping cog.

I will say that IRD did replace one of them for free. I guess I still have that one, and it still works.

davester

Which generation of IRD freewheel broke? It is widely known that the first generation (the Defiant) had flawed pawl springs which snapped. I had one of these. IRD acknowledged the problem and brought out the second generation (the Classica) which is a better version of the Defiant with strengthened pawl springs. I have three of these and haven't had a problem. They disappeared because IRD was having supply problems with their manufacturer according to the IRD distributor (Merrysales). The current generation (the Cyclone) appears to be manufactured in a completely different way than the others and I suspect is from a different manufacturer altogether. So, there are three completely different freewheels that have been sold under the IRD name. Failure on one model does not mean that the other models are no good. Note also that IRD is now offering repair kits for the Defiant and Cyclone series that included new pawls. I am tempted to buy one of these to repair my defunct Defiant.

BFisher 

IRD comes across to me as just another brand selling someone else's stuff at a markup higher than their reputation should allow.

I look up 7 speed freewheels, for example, and see Shimano - with a proven track record for service - for $14 to $20.

Sunrace - with a bit less of a reputation for quality - for $10 to $16.

IRD - with a well known quality issue in the past - seems to come in at $45 to $70, unless I'm missing the good sources. Even their rebranded drilled aero brake levers come in at $50 to $60+! That's a $20 - $25 dollar set of levers at best.

To each their own, but I'll pass.

SurferRosa

Not 100 percent sure, but I think it was a Defiant with the busted pawl, and a Classica with the skipping cog. They both looked very similar to me, though one was a 5- and one a 6-speed.

davester

In some ways I'd agree with you. However, Sunrace and Shimano only come in an extremely limited selection of cog sizes and cog numbers. If you're putting lots of miles on your bikes then you need to have the gearing dialed in the way you want it and IRD (or something vintage that may be difficult to find) is the only game in town for doing that in many cases.

Classtime 

I had a 5 speed Classica on my PX-10 and was quite happy with it. I do wish they were more more affordable but even at the current prices, and if you compare with vintage NOS, AND you notice that individual cogs are 7 bucks each, the price is fair.

noglider 

Is it true that IRD just buys other companies' stuff? I somehow got the idea that they make the cranksets that are branded Holdsworth and Velo Orange, but I really don't know.

BFisher 

I gotta say, my opinion about "selling someone else's stuff" was the impression I've gotten, and may not be correct. I've read that their old stuff was very good, and there is more information about them on MOMBAT. But it doesn't seem like the company is owned, or run, by the same folks anymore. I believe, and please correct me if wrong, that their parts are outsourced, which isn't a bad thing at all. Whose aren't? But for me, and it's just a personal thing, their pricing doesn't align with what I see from them. They aren't the only ones.

Again, I could be all wrong about them. As I said, options are great. If their parts really do command their prices, then more power to them.